Razer: A Journey of Hope
by Russockshitha
Summary: After the events of Season 1, Razer struggles with his new life as a Blue Lantern, and, with the help of his friends and new Hope infused powers, quests for his lost love, Aya.
1. Chapter 1: With Hope, I Seek You

Odym. A planet of hope and healing. Even now, the sunlight was glinting off the surface of its many pristine lakes and winding streams like so many jewels. Squat scrubs with large blue-green floppy leaves and bright pink tubular flowers clung to the many rounded cliffs and buttes. Taller in lowland areas, they obscured a cave in which a young Blue Lantern hovered, cross-legged in meditation. His blue and black suit was more rounded than the red and black one he had worn in his days as a Red Lantern. His eyes were closed, dark eye patches making his long, pale Volkregian face all most skull-like in the dim light of cave.

A slender limbed Astonian Blue Lantern appeared in the cave's mouth, pausing to observe the meditating Volkregian with large, gentle dark eyes. In the silence, he could hear the distant chatter of several Odymian birds, and the quiet sigh of his fellow lantern. He entered the cave, silent and graceful.

"How goes your meditation, Brother Razer?" The Astonian inquired quietly.

Razer opened his rich blue eyes and turned his head to look at him. "Not well, Saint Walker. I know Aya is out there, but, depite what you have told me, I cannot sense or contact her with my ring, no matter how much I hope for it." He dropped his gaze to look at his hand. Curling it into a fist, he turned it so that he could look at the blue ring's insignia. It resembled the form of a rising bird where his old red ring had borne an insignia resembling a charging horned beast. "Maybe this ring was wrong to choose me. I try to use it. I channel my hope in finding Aya into it, but it does not respond. Or when it does, all it gives me is cryptic flashes."

Saint Walker frowned. "You must not lose hope. It is hard for us all when we first try." His face brightened. "All will be well. I know you will find her."

Razer looked at him, somewhat doubtfully, and said, "I hope you are right."

Saint Walker smiled, his head tail bobbing slightly as he jerked his head in the direction of the cave entrance. "Come on, Sister Sercy has prepared a midday meal for us. I believe it is Dyju buns stuffed with fruit and nuts with a side of Ki beans and leaves. Just the thought of it makes my mouth water."

"Beans and bread again?" Razer complained. "Why don't we ever have meat in any of our meals?"

Saint Walker raised his eye ridges. "Because, Brother Razer, Blue Lanterns do not kill, not even to eat."

Razer snorted, and mumbled, "At least that means they don't eat bugs either . . ."

"What was that, brother?" Saint Walker asked, not catching what Razer said.

"Nothing."

Razer unfolded his legs, and let his feet fall to the ground. His gaze wandered to the cave walls. "You go on ahead. I will follow you shortly."

"Very well, I will save you a place at the table." He left with a bob of his head.

Sighing, Razer continued to gaze about the cave. From what Ganthet had told him, this was the very cave that Aya had used all those months ago to speak with a damaged Manhunter. He figured that this place was as good as any to meditate on Aya, but it had all been in vain. The peaceful atmosphere had rendered his results mildly better than the place just off Maltus where Aya had "died". It was not a true death he knew. Not for her. He knew better after his mistake before in the Maelstrom. Aya had seemingly died then, too, but had survived due to her own ingenuity. And he had hope now; hope in finding her once more.

The squawk of an Odymian peafowl woke him from his revere. With a start he realized that he had been staring at the same flattened rock for the better part of a minute. An Odymian minute, which is much longer than that of Earth, or Volkreg for that matter. Wondering, he approached the rock, and, kneeling, laid a blue clad hand upon it. It was the perfect rock for sitting. How had he missed it? Closing his eyes, he let himself hope. His ring sparked, and for a moment he almost sensed Aya; almost knew how and where to find her. Almost. But the sensation came and went before he could get a lock on it with his ring.

"Aya . . ." he whispered.

Then he rose and followed Saint Walker to a meal of bread and beans.

"I almost had her, Saint Walker," Razer confessed over his simple fare. "I almost found the way to Aya."

Light streamed in though the gaps between the tall pillars that marked the boundary between the mess hall and the outside. Above, the celling disappeared into dark shadows. He and the other Blue Lanterns sat about a round table. Except for Ganthet, whose small form floated, white clad, at the table's edge, and Brother Warth, who was too massive to use the table comfortably. He balanced his food on a solid light construct plate in one palm, and delicately picked it up with his long elephantine trunk. Razer had always likened it to the way Kilowog always shoveled up his food with his fleshy tusks, and it made him cringe to look at it.

"See, Brother Razer," Saint Walker praised, "have hope, and all will be well." The approving smile he gave Razer caused the segments of his pale face to shift their shapes.

"Indeed," added Brother Warth, "you are learning to use your ring. It is a good feeling isn't it?" His large black eyes brightened as his deep voice rumbled from his throat.

"Yes," intoned Brother Hymn, a serene smile stretching across his orange pyramidic face, "your hope grows strong, Brother Razer."

"Soon you will find your Aya. I know it," Sister Sercy chimed in. Her voice was as sweet and elegant as her form, and her smile was just visible beneath her segmented mask and loose hood.

Ganthet was the only one who remained silent. Although, there was an approving look on his blue Guardian's face, his bioluminescent eyes remained somber. A soft breeze filtered in from outside to toy with the long white strands of hair hanging loose on his large balding head.

"What is it, Ganthet?" Saint Walker asked, noticing the slight lack of luster in Ganthet's eyes. "Does something bother you?"

Ganthet looked at Saint Walker, and then at each of the Blue Lanterns in turn until his gaze came to rest upon Razer. Razer looked back at him expectantly.

"Hope is powerful," Ganthet began, "and I have no doubt that it will lead you, Brother Razer, on your journey to find Aya. However, I will say to you what I have tried to tell the Guardian Council." He paused.

Razer nodded for him to continue, curious as to what he had to say. The others seemed just as enraptured.

"When I spoke to the council," Ganthet continued, "I mentioned that I think we need more than the green light of willpower to save the universe. I argued that we also need hope. After all, the blue light of hope acts as a natural super charger to the green light of willpower. The council refused, and when I acted upon my beliefs against the Council's decision, I was banished. This much, I believe you all know?"

They all nodded. The memory of that day on Betrassus when the blue energy came to the aid of his Green Lantern friends Hal Jordan and Kilowog flashed through Razer's head. Briefly, it lingered upon the moment Aya had saved him from certain doom when his red ring became bathed in the blue light and ceased to work. _Aya . . ._

He snapped back to reality as Ganthet continued.

"The same principals can be applied to the blue light of hope when it is in proximity to the green energy of willpower. For, just as hope brings new strength to will, will gives power and form to hope. You may have noticed an increase in your power and ability while in the presence of a Green Lantern?"

Again everyone nodded, except for Razer who was still so new at being a Blue Lantern that he had never been in the presence of a Green Lantern as one.

"With this strong symbiotic relationship between the green and blue energies, I think that it would be easier for you, Brother Razer, to find Aya while in the company of a Green Lantern. One or both of your friends, Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Sargent Kilowog perhaps?" Ganthet conclude.

Razer nodded, and looked down at his food, considering Ganthet's words. It had been months since he had seen either Hal or Kilowog. In fact, he had seen them last on Oa the day Aya and he had parted ways. After his blue ring had come to him, he had been too preoccupied with learning to use it to think of contacting them. Perhaps it was about time they learned he was a Blue Lantern now. He imagined their reactions: Hal would congratulate him in Earth fashion with that bizarre "handshake" ritual, and Kilowog would doubtless give him another one of those personal space violating Bolovoxian hugs. Razer leaned back, returning his thoughts to the real world. Crossing his arms, he looked at Ganthet. A look that was part excitement at seeing his friends again, and part annoyance that Ganthet thought he needed help finding Aya gleamed in his piercing blue eyes. Even the gentle influence of the blue energy could not soften his hard eyes by very much.

"I will try your suggestion, Ganthet," Razer announced.

Ganthet and the other Blue Lanterns nodded their approval, and conversation moved on to other more mundane matters as everyone continued their meals. Razer, however, was still weighed down by what Ganthet had said, and returned to Aya's cave when the meal concluded to consider things in more depth.

Back at the cave, Razer sat slumped on Aya's rock. In an attempt to prove to himself that he did not need help finding Aya, he had tried to establish the same contact with Aya he had earlier for the past few hours. Although he had come close several times, he had not been able to manage it. With each consecutive try, he became more and more frustrated. With each frustrating moment, his hope became more fleeting, and his ability to control his ring faltered. Eventually, he stopped being able to work his ring altogether, and he fell into his current funk. At least the ring had not left him altogether, he had mused.

Maybe Ganthet was right. Maybe he really did need a boost from the green energy. Aya's "death" had been very unusual. Maybe his search for her required a bit more than just him, his hope, and his ring. And Hal had helped him a lot in the past. So had Kilowog.

Razer groaned, dropping his head into the palm of one hand, staring blankly at the cave floor as he thought. He needed to find Aya, needed to be with her again. He felt so empty and lost without her.

"Brother Razer," the melodic voice of Sister Sercy broke Razer from his stream of thought with a start.

Razer looked up to see her standing in the cave mouth, a solid light construct plate with bread in one hand and a jar of water in the other. The dark tendrils that took the place of her legs contorted in slow, easy motions just above the ground.

"You have been dwelling here a long time," she began. "We began to worry when our rings indicated that your hope was dwindling. I am glad to see that you have not lost all hope and still retain your ring. I brought you food and water in case you wished to sup alone tonight." She indicated the bread and water in her hands.

"Thank you," Razer said after an uneasy pause, "but I am not hungry. My species does not need to eat with the same frequency that the rest of yours do."

Sister Sercy frowned. "Well, I cannot argue with your biology; however, I will leave this here for you should you discover otherwise." She smiled encouragingly at him as she placed the food and water on a small rocky outcropping not far from Razer.

"All will be well, Brother Razer. You will find your Aya." She left as silently as she had come.

Razer stared at the bread and water for a long moment. Bread. Bread baked from roots that grew wild in the forest. It was rich in nutrients and very sustaining, this Odymian bread that they always ate, but somehow it just did not seem like enough to Razer. He craved some meat with his meals. Whenever he mentioned this to the others they reminded him that to kill, even for food, was wrong. It was not the way of the Blue Lanterns. It made him feel shame at his own carnivorous nature. He thought, not for the first time, that perhaps he did not belong with the other Blue Lanterns any more than he had belonged with the Red Lanterns.

He shook his head, dispelling the thought. He hoped, as he always had, that it was not true. He found so much peace on Odym as a Blue Lantern. Razer leaned over and picked up the bread, and started eating. Perhaps he was hungry after all.


	2. Chapter 2: Of Blue and Green

As the sun rose on Odym, its light stained the sky a mired a ray of colors. Orange, red and gold adorned most of the sky while the clouds remained a dark lavender. The first calls of the Odymian wildlife echoed within the forest's foliage. Razer hovered over it all, taking it in. He marveled, not for the first time, how much dawn on Odym differed from dawn on Volkreg. On Odym it was so wet and full of life, every color intensified. On Volkreg, however, everything was so barren and dry. The colors of the dawn light always spread across the dusty landscape like a dull haze.

"Good morning, Brother Razer," Brother Hymn's lilting voice cut through the chill morning air. Not that Razer or Brother Hymn ever felt the cold with the power of their rings to warm them.

Razer turned to Brother Hymn as he flew in beside him. The orange textured skin that stretched over Brother Hymn's frog-like frame glowed almost red in the morning light. Razer nodded to him in greeting. Together they surveyed Odym in silence. It was Brother Hymn who broke the silence again.

"It is beautiful, is it not?" he asked rhetorically. "If only every sentient being could look upon such beauty, they would be filled with such hope!" He looked over to Razer. "I have been working on a song to capture this beauty so that I may share it with others. Would you like to hear it?"

"Maybe later," Razer replied distractedly, not turning his gaze from the changing colors of the brightening forest below.

Brother Hymn frowned. "You are thinking about what Ganthet said yesterday," he observed.

Razer nodded hesitantly, and glanced over at Brother Hymn.

"Why do you hesitate to call your friends? Do you doubt that they can help you?"

"No . . . they have helped me a lot in the past, and I have no doubt that their green energy powered rings can help me find Aya."

"Then I will ask you again: why do you hesitate?"

Razer sighed, looking up to the bluing sky and scattered clouds. He answered quietly, "I want to find her by myself without any help."

"Ahh," replied Brother Hymn, "pride is a dangerous thing. It drives hope from the mind, and leaves vanity and delusion in its place."

There was a long pause before either spoke again. By now, the sun was fully up, and the forest was loud with the chatter of newly awoken birds and beasts.

"I will call them," Razer said suddenly. He turned to look at Brother Hymn meaningfully.

Brother Hymn smiled, nodded, and left Razer to his task.

Razer watched him go before turning his attention to his ring. He stared at it, displayed on his fist, for a long moment before speaking.

"Hal Jordan of Earth, are you there?"

His ring responded with only silence.

"Hal Jordan? Kil—"

"Razer? Is that you? I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten us or something." The masculine voice was accompanied by a blue hologram of Hal. Surprisingly, he was wearing only his civilian clothing, not his Green Lantern suit. Razer surmised that he must be spending some time off duty somewhere. How typical of him to let his guard down.

"Hal," Razer began, but Hal cut him off, his eyes lighting up.

"Wait, you look different, Razer." The hologram of Hal seemed to scrutinize him. "You changed you outfit . . . is that a Blue Lantern insignia I see? What happened to your red one?" Hal's hologram gave Razer a mischievous look.

Razer let out his breath slowly, trying to subdue his annoyance. He had forgotten how irksome the Earthman could be at times.

"Shortly after I left you and Kilowog," Razer began to explain, "a blue ring came to me and I ceased to be a Red Lantern. I am a Blue Lantern now."

"That's great!" Hal replied. "Congratulations! We should get together and celebrate."

Razer grunted.

"So what can I do for you? There must be some reason you called me half a galaxy away."

"Yes, I need your help with something. Kilowog's too if he is available." Razer looked off to one side.

"So you haven't found Aya yet, I'm guessing?" Hal gave Razer a meaningful look.

"No," Razer said, looking back at Hal's hologram.

"Well," Hal answered, "I can help you, and I am sure Kilowog will squeeze you into his busy schedule between poozer spankings. I think he almost misses Aya as much as you do."

Razer nodded his gratitude. "Can you come to Odym, or should I plan on meeting you somewhere?"

"Odym's fine," Hal answered with a smile. "I'll just round up Kilowog on Oa, and we will come to Odym together."

"Thank you," Razer exhaled.

"Anytime, Razer."

The transmission ended. Razer lowered his ring, and looked back down at the endless expanse of forest below him. The many lakes and rivers glinted and glittered in the new sunlight. The spray of waterfalls spouting from the many buttes and cliffs spread the light into so many arching rainbows. Razer took a deep breath, and dove back down to the waiting trees below. He leveled off and corrected his course towards the temple where the other Blue Lanterns would be gathered to break their fast with a morning meal.

Razer spent that morning meditating with Brother Warth near the lake. Saint Walker had suggested that maybe Razer was trying too hard and needed a day away from his efforts to find Aya to clear his mind. Razer had resisted the idea until Brother Hymn pointed out that it would not be good for him to exhaust himself just before his guests arrived. Sister Sercy had concurred, and that was the end of that.

The lake, like always, gleamed a deep sapphire in the morning sun. The surface was still as glass, and cloaked in near silence. It was not a suffocating silence like that before a storm, but a calm and soothing hush like that which comes before dawn. Looking at the lake now, Razer realized the wisdom of Saint Walker's suggestion. He sighed, and closed his eyes to resume his meditation.

"What is it that troubles you, Brother Razer?" Brother Warth asked without moving or opening his eyes.

Razer opened his eyes again, and turned to look at Brother Warth. "I was just thinking," he answered simply.

"One does not think in meditation," Brother Warth chided gently. "There is only the calmness of the lake, and rhythm of one's breath."

Razer bit his lip. Brother Warth's scolding reminded him of when he had first come to Odym as a Red Lantern. Saint Walker and Ganthet had been very patient with him and his tantrums. Month after month, he had struggled to learn the meditative and calming techniques that Saint Walker taught him. Brother Warth had come to Odym during that time, and had joined him beneath Saint Walker's tutelage. After Razer had left Odym with Aya and the others, Brother Warth had obviously mastered all of those techniques and more. This only made it worse for Razer who continued to struggle with his meditation since his return to Odym as a Blue Lantern. Every time he had tried meditating, his mind had wondered back to Aya. He missed her so . . .

"You are thinking again," Brother Warth observed, unmoving.

Razer exhaled. "Perhaps I should try something else. I seem to be incapable of clearing my mind and focusing on the calmness of the lake right now. Brother Hymn is preparing the day's meals today. Perhaps I could—"

"One should be able to enter a meditative state whenever and wherever one wishes," Brother Warth interjected. "One is in control of one's own thoughts, not the other way around."

Razer bit his lip again. _At this rate,_ he thought, _I may not have any more lip to bite . . ._

"Try again," Brother Warth encouraged, "and have patience. Meditation is something that comes with time and the tempering of one's self. It is not easy."

Razer almost said, "Indeed. It is easier to turn a supernova back into a blue giant," but stopped himself by biting his lip again. Then he remembered the thought he had had about his lip just moments ago, and nearly snorted. Thanks to the lessons in etiquette his mother had beat into him as a child, he managed to sigh instead.

"I will try again," he said, resignedly.

"Very good," Brother Warth praised.

And thus Razer remained near the lake, meditating beside Brother Warth, and trying to purge his very being of all things but the calmness of the lake and the ebb and flow of his own breath.

It was afternoon, and the warmth in the air had stilled the songs of birds and rustling of beasts. Only a few insects zoomed about, their wings creating a high hum as they passed Razer and Saint Walker who were walking along a wide path through the forest. In the distance Razer could hear the soft roar of several of the many waterfalls of Odym.

"You aren't going to make me meditate under a waterfall again are you?" Razer asked suspiciously. "I was meditating all morning, and why are we walking instead of flying? If we flew we would get wherever we are going faster."

Saint Walker looked over at Razer, one eye ridge raised. "This frustration and impatience does not befit a Blue Lantern, Brother Razer. You know this."

Razer just grunted. He had been getting more and more frustrated and impatient lately.

"From what Brother Warth tells me, you spent your morning thinking more than meditating, and, no, we are not going to any waterfalls today." Saint Walker walked ahead of Razer, and turned about for effect, casting a blue light construct lute.

"We are going to play with your pet," Razer said flatly.

Saint Walker smiled, and said, "You are very observant, Brother Razer."

As if in response, the ground began to tremble. He came closer to Razer and handed him the lute. "However, it is not 'we' who will play, it is you."

Razer took the lute construct from Saint Walker grudgingly. Over the past few months Saint Walker had showed him how to play the lute. When Razer had asked him why, he had replied with "It is good for a Blue Lantern to be versed in the art of many calming techniques. One of those techniques is music."

This sudden test only peeved Razer. He trusted Saint Walker's wisdom and teachings, just not his methods.

The colossal worm broke suddenly from the earth with a shower of dirt, rocks and tree roots. The beast's red scales gleamed like garnets in the sun, and its innumerable teeth suck out like ivory tusks from its maw.

Taking a deep breath, Razer strummed one of the calming notes Saint Walker had taught him. This one was a friendly greeting. Or it would have been if his fingers had not slipped, rendering the greeting into an aggressive snarl.

The worm, usually quite docile, reacted violently to the note. It thrashed to and fro, snapping at tree, rock and Razer himself. Its tail wiped around, catching Razer in the side and throwing him hard against the trunk of a nearby tree. Razer dropped the lute as his battle instinct came over. Forming a blue scimitar with his ring, he slashed at the worm. Just as the blade was about to connect with the worm's flank, however, it dissipated, leaving Razer empty handed and defenseless. Wide eyed and open mouthed he stared, terror stricken, into what he thought, not for the first time, his doom at the worm's many long sharp teeth. But the worm retreated at the sound of a few melodic notes. Soothed, it slipped back into the earth from whence it came.

His heart still pounding against his ribcage, and his breathing ragged, Razer looked up numbly at Saint Walker. The look he sent him was part fear, part shame and part apology. Saint Walker only answered Razer with a look disappointment in his large dark eyes. Razer did not like it when he looked at him that way. It made him feel like a failure, and only deepened the shame and frustration he already felt.

There was a streak of motion from behind Saint Walker's head that caught Razer's eye. It was a starship, gliding down through the atmosphere of Odym to the planet's surface. Its form was familiar to Razer: mostly white with a few green markings; arm-like wings to either side of a rounded haul, and amidst the ship's narrow forked tail, a glowing green sphere. It was the _Interceptor._

For a moment Razer merely stared up at the sky, confused. He had watched the _Interceptor_ crash into a sickened Aya as Lanos, the navigational computer of the ship at the time, had steered it straight through Aya into a hyperspace conduit. Lanos had sacrificed both himself and the ship to save the others from Aya's madness, if but for a moment. Razer clenched his teeth and swallowed. Briefly he wondered how it could be here when he had seen its destruction.

It did not matter. Not anymore. He knew it meant Hal and Kilowog had arrived. He shot off after the ship, leaving Saint Walker to stare after him.

The _Interceptor_ landed not far from the temple. Brother Hymn, Sister Sercy, Brother Warth and Ganthet were already outside and waiting by the time Razer arrived. Saint Walker was not far behind him, his disapproving look hidden. As Razer waited for Hal and Kilowog to emerge, Razer studied the vessel in which they had arrived. It certainly looked like the _Interceptor _he knew. It had the same smooth white shell, green markings and propulsion system. He could not see how it could be any other ship, and yet he had seen its demise._ It must be another ship built from the same design_, he reasoned.

The external airlock hatch opened, and, before the ramp was completely lowered, Hal shot out with Kilowog close behind. Their faces brightened as they spotted Razer, and they adjusted their course in his direction. Razer, remaining on the ground, took a few steps forward, and bobbed his head in greeting as they landed. A slight smile adorned his face.

"Woah," Hal exclaimed when his suit became alight with the supercharge Razer's ring gave his.

Kilowog reacted in a similarly, a looked of surprise lighting his pink large-jawed face.

Razer too could feel a supercharge effect on his own ring from the green energy. It was more subtle than the charge the green rings were receiving, but not less potent. It was merely more covert. It gave Razer a warm feeling inside as though all the bad things that had ever happened or would ever happen would all eventually work out in the end. It strengthened his own hope for Aya, and he would have become intoxicated with it had not Hal continued to speak.

"This will take some getting used to. I guess we can't just skip up to you like we used to now that your ring is blue."

"No kidding," Kilowog added, "Although, I don't think I would mind in a fight."

"My apologies," Razer said, making an intricate gesture with his hands, and the supercharge effect dissipated. Razer felt the charge the green energy gave his ring dissipate. It was like a chill creeping back into the marrow of his bones. He nearly shivered.

"Neat trick," Hal surmised, giving Razer a curious look.

"Yes," Razer admitted, "it is something Ganthet taught me."

"Good old Ganthet. Where is the little blue elf now?" Hal looked up to where the other Blue Lanterns were observing them from a respectful distance. He spotted Ganthet and smiled. Ganthet retuned it with his own smile and floated over to the trio.

"It is good to see you, Hal," Ganthet nodded to Hal, "Kilowog." He nodded to Kilowog. "I trust you sought approval of the Guardian Council before flying off with one of their ships?" He gave Hal a meaningful look.

"Well, this time it worked out that way," Hal said, placing one hand behind his head. "I kind of had to take on a mission to do it, and convince them I needed Kilowog for it." Then he added quickly with a glance at Razer, "but I am sure we can squeeze in some time to help our friend here." He smiled.

"That's right," Kilowog added with a friendly hand gesture at Razer, "we're here for you, Red. Just tell us what you need help with."

"'Red'?" Ganthet inquired with raised eyebrows. The wrinkles on his forehead deepened.

"Well yeah," Kilowog explained, "because he's ah . . . Oh, I guess that would be 'Blue' now that he's a Blue Lantern."

"'Razer' would suffice," Razer suggested.

"Brother Razer, I think you mean," Saint Walker corrected as he approached the four of them.

"Yes, 'Brother Razer'," Razer said with a quick glance at Saint Walker. The words came out a bit more sheepishly than he had intended.

"Well, Brother Razer," Kilowog said, trying out the new name, "It is good to see that you have made peace with yourself, and gotten rid of that red excuse of a power ring."

"Yes," Hal said with a clap of his hands, "we really must celebrate. How about we gather around a bonfire tonight, roast some of those roots that taste like marshmallows and catch up on what's been happening since we last met."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Kilowog agreed.

"The company will prove a nice change of pace," Saint Walker added with a smile.

Razer frowned. He did not want to waste valuable time on a celebration. He had already wasted all day with meditation and useless exercises. He tried not to think about what had happened with the worm. He just wanted to get going and find Aya.

"Perhaps another night," Razer said after a bit. "I would really like to get going so that I can hopefully locate Aya. Besides, you have a mission you have to attend to. I would not keep you from it longer than is necessary."

"Oh, come on, 'Brother' Razer," Hal complained, "Stop being such a stick in the mud, and have some fun for once. The mission can wait. Kilowog and I just have to pick up some guy from somewhere just outside Guardian Space so the Guardians can talk to him or something. It didn't sound too urgent."

Razer raised one eyebrow. "And you managed to convince the Guardians you needed Kilowog for that?"

"Well, you know, there could be pirates or a damsel in distress or something."

Razer just looked at him.

"It was his idea, not mine," Kilowog clarified.

"Hal," Ganthet began, "perhaps it would be best to do as Brother Razer suggests. The Guardian Council may not have indicated a real need for haste in this mission of yours, but it would be best to keep them from waiting. Besides, I think a change of scenery would do Brother Razer some good. It would probably be best for him to get it sooner rather than later."

"But, Ganthet," Saint Walker interjected, a look of concern contorting the segments of his face, "There is still more he should do here. One more night—"

"He would benefit more by leaving than continuing with meditation, I think." Ganthet finished for him.

"Guess that settles it then," Hal concluded with a hint of disappointment in his voice. He turned to Razer. "Go get your battery, and meet Kilowog and me on the ship."

Hal smiled at Razer as he turned with Kilowog towards the _Interceptor_. Likewise, Razer turned to retrieve his battery.


	3. Chapter 3: Love Finds a Way

A streak of pink illuminated the drifting debris of the asteroid belt. Swift and graceful as the swallows of earth, the Star Sapphire wove her way between rock and scrap metal. The pink wings of her head piece flared out from warm brown eyes like a celestial butterfly. She paused. Perplexed, she tossed about, dark brown stands of hair tangling in the lack of gravity. She was Carol Ferris of Earth, and she had come here answering the call of a strained love tether.

"Oh, damn it all," she cursed, looking at her ring. "Can't you just show me where she is so I can get this over with, and get back to work? I have a company to run you know!"

Her ring flashed a few times, then went dark.

"Fine," Carol exhaled exasperatedly, "if you can't show me where _she _is just bring me to _him._" She sighed, and added, "Well here goes nothing. Ring, follow love tether!"

With that, Carol's ring directed her to the appropriate coordinates, and opened a subspace conduit. Carol vanished into a flash of magenta light.

Space. It was so vast it boggled the mind. Even now Razer sat staring into its greatness through the transparent ceramic window of the _Interceptor's_ helm. As Razer watched the innumerable stars flicker at him from across immeasurable distances, he mused at it all. Space was so empty, so cold, so dark, and yet with in it there were stars and planets and people. He wondered at how hopeless and devoid the universe would be without the stars. _Look to the stars, for hope burns bright . . ._

"Razer," Hal broke him from his train of thought.

Razer turned to look at Hal who stood at the main control panel. Lanos II swiveled about in his cradle between the two wings of the panel. He was slightly less talkative than his predecessor, but no less willing to give out ridiculous amounts of information. Kilowog stood behind Hal to one side, stoic and waiting.

"When you are done mooning over the scenery, we have to talk about how we are going to do this," Hal said in all seriousness.

"Talk about how we are going to do what?" Razer asked. "How we are going to help me _and_ complete your mission? It's simple, we go to Maltus, and you help me locate Aya. I find where she is. The two of you go pick up who-ever-it-is, bring him to Oa, and we all rendezvous where Aya is."

"Right," Hal said doubtfully, "except if you don't locate her, you will probably have to come with us." Hal looked meaningfully at Kilowog.

"What are you looking at me for?" Kilowog asked with a shrug, and a gesture of his large four-fingered hand. "It's your mission we are talking about. I'm just here for the ride.

Razer just looked at Hal, eyebrow raided questioningly.

Hal sighed. "If what you say is true and all we need to do is stand by and supercharge you while you do your Blue Lantern thing, helping you should be easy. However, I'm worried that if it was really that hard for you to do it the last time you were here by yourself, maybe it still might not work even with our help. I just don't want to keep your hopes up, Razer."

Razer snorted. Wasn't hope what Blue Lanterns were all about?

"Anyway," Hal continued, "the Star Sapphires have helped you reach Aya before right? If this doesn't work . . ."

"It will work," Razer said through his teeth. "I have hope. And the Star Sapphires tried to destroy me for my love for Aya once. I doubt they would be eager to help me."

"That was before Gi'ata showed them the error of their ways," Hal pointed out. "I am sure that—"

"Gi'ata is gone now," Razer said shortly. He began to feel the power in his ring weaken. No. He needed hope. _Look to the stars . . ._ Razer turned his head to look back out the window. Yes, the stars were hope. As long as they existed, he would feel hope.

"I am sure Queen Aga'po and the other Zamaronians have not forgotten her teachings that quickly," Hal counter argued.

"You are right," Razer said after a short pause. "If I fail to find Aya, I will join you on your mission, and afterwards we go to Zameron." He looked back at Hal and Kilowog.

"Good," Kilowog said before Hal could answer, "now that that's all settled, let's get back to going to Maltus."

"Lanos," Hal addressed the ship's AI.

"It's Lanos II, Green Lantern Hal Jordan of Sector 2814," the AI corrected.

"Right, Lanos II. Set a course for Maltus."

The debris that remained from that fateful day when Razer, as a Red Lantern, had come to help the Green Lantern Corps stop Aya's madness still floated aimlessly where it had been flung in orbit around Maltus. Deactivated Manhunters, floated listlessly here and there, their blue and red forms were whole or fragmented. The effect made Razer uneasy as he maneuvered with Hal and Kilowog to the exact spot Aya had dissipated into so many points of white light.

He and the others had not spoken since leaving the ship. Each was too overcome by the memories that flooded into his mind from that day. Even Hal, who was usually so full of bravado, remained very sober. In Razer's mind the images danced, haunting him: The flash of green light against yellow and aqua, and the shouts and screams over the Green Lantern com-link system. Razer had fought, a lone red steak amongst so much green. There was pain and love, so bitter sweet. There was Aya's self-sacrifice, even as she had just returned to them. Then she was gone.

As Razer drew nearer to the place he had last seen Aya, alive and whole, his memories of his love for her grew stronger. With it came Aya's parting words, and, with them, Razer's hope grew stronger. They came to a place not far from the Antimonitor's torn, blue and yellow bulk. There was nothing to mark the spot really, but Razer knew they had arrived.

"It was here wasn't it?" Kilowog asked quietly, not looking at the others.

"Yes," Razer answered just as softly.

Hal remained silent.

There was a long pause before Kilowog said, "Now, Red . . . er . . . I mean Blue, do your Blue Lantern thing."

Razer nodded. He wove his arms in an intricate pattern like he had back on Odym, releasing the block on his ring's supercharge effect. Immediately, Hal and Kilowog's rings responded with a roaring flash of emerald fire that wrapped around their bodies. Razer felt his own ring respond with is subtle resonating warmth. He let out a breath. Folding his body into a meditative pose, he closed his eyes and focused his supercharged hope on Aya.

His ring connected immediately with Aya's essence. The effect was so strong it almost knocked the wind out of Razer. Aya was alive, and she was . . . everywhere? He opened his eyes, perplexed. _That's strange . . ._ was all he could manage to think.

"Razer?" Hal asked, noticing Razer's change in demeanor. "What is it? Did you find her?"

"I . . ." Razer trailed off, not sure what to say. He bit his lip, and after some thought continued, "I can sense her, but . . . it's strange."

"What do you mean 'strange'?" Kilowog asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Razer admitted, turning to face the others. There was an apologetic look in his eyes. "It's like she's everywhere."

There was a sudden flash of magenta light, and a feminine voice cut in, "So you noticed it, too?"

Startled, the trio whirled around to see who had just arrived.

"Carol?!" Hal said just a bit too loudly, astonishment clearly written on his face.

"Oh, Hi, Hal," Carol looked just as startled.

The two flew to one another. Razer and Kilowog looked at each other, and shrugged.

"What are you doing here?" Hal asked with a gesture of his arms.

"Well, you know, my Star Sapphire thing," Carol answered with a roll of her eyes. "Spreading love throughout the galaxy and mending broken love tethers. What brings you here?"

"I'm here to help Razer find Aya," Hal said with a gesture in Razer's direction.

"What a coincidence then, I am here for the same reason." Carol flew over to Razer.

Startled, Razer just looked at her.

"Alright, Honey," Carol said to him with a motion of her hand that showcased her ring, "my ring told me I need to go find your love; Aya, right? Don't know why. Problem is, my ring says she's pretty much everywhere, so I came to you. I figure I can do that Star Sapphire love touch thing. I really need to talk to Queen Aga'po about getting this stuff named properly."

"Er," Razer replied with a slight grimace, "then maybe we should just get this over with." He had undergone this once before on Zameron. He remembered the experience being rather unpleasant. But then again, anything was unpleasant when one was forcibly encased in pink crystals.

"Right," Carol concurred. "Now I will need to touch you on the skin somewhere," she looked him over quickly, "and right now that looks like it's going to be your face."

"Yeah," Razer confirmed.

"And it would help if you concentrated on your love for Aya."

Razer nodded, wishing she would just shut-up get it over with. Closing his eyes, he began to think of Aya. How he yearned for her, and loved her with all his heart.

"Alright, here goes nothing," Carol said, placing a hand on Razer's cheek.

There was a long pause. Nothing happened. Razer opened his eyes again, and looked at Carol. Her face was screwed up into the most perplexed look he had ever seen.

"Well," he asked hopefully.

She sighed, "I am getting a connection, but it keeps blipping out. It's like she's in one place, and then, next moment, she's somewhere else entirely. It's weird, and not much better than before."

Razer just looked at her, waiting.

She shrugged, removing her hand from his cheek. "I don't know what else I can do." She looked at him apologetically.

"That's alright," Razer said politely, trying not to let his disappointment get to him. "Thank you for trying."

"Maybe you could go to Zameron?" Carol suggested. "I'm sure Queen Aga'po would think of a way to do it."

Razer briefly thought of what Aga'po could possibly do for him. The moment where she had tried to kill him for falling in love with Aya, who in her mind was just an emotionless robot who looked like his dead wife, passed through his mind. Of course she had been much less threatening in later encounters, but still, without Gi'ata to reign her in, he was not sure it would be a good idea. Star Sapphires had such a reputation for instability and unpredictability.

"Maybe sometime later I will pay her a visit," He said politely.

"Right, whenever you're ready," Carol said with a smile. She turned back to Hal.

Hal had observed the whole ordeal with his arms crossed, and a frown on his face. "Are you done?" He asked Carol a bit too harshly.

Carol flew back over to him and placed a hand on his chest. Hal answered by grabbing her shoulders gently.

"Fortunately, yes, I have a lot of work to do back home," She said.

Hal looked at her with surprise and more than a little disappointment through his skin tight green mask. "So, this means you can't stay a while?"

"That's exactly what it means," She said, a slight hint of disappointment on her part crept into her own voice.

"See you around then?" he asked.

"See you around," she answered with a smile. Then she drew away from him, and vanished into a flash of magenta light.

He stared blankly at the place she had vanished for a long moment.

"Er, Jordan?" Kilowog asked, "Are you going to float there all day, or can we get going?"

"Huh?" Hal shook himself out of his reverie, "Oh, right, we have that one guy to go pick up still don't we?"

"Well, yeah. You did say something about getting him picked up as soon as we were done here."

"Yes, and we still need to drop Razer off back at Odym." Hal looked at Razer. His eyes seemed glazed as though his thoughts were really elsewhere.

"I believe I already decided to join you on your mission," Razer said just as distractedly as he looked out at the stars around them. "Besides, I seem to be doing better out here with my search than I was back on Odym."

"I guess you did say that. We would be glad to have you along again," Hal cheerfully said with a smile. "Right Kilowog?"

"Of course!" Kilowog confirmed enthusiastically, "Welcome back to the crew, Re—er I mean Blue!"

"Thanks," Razer said almost smiling himself.

"So," Hal continued, "Are you going to turn that supercharge effect off, or are we going to have to remain flaming green torches for the rest of the mission?"

Razer just rolled his eyes, and silently wove the intricate hand signals that allowed him to turn off the supercharge effect. Then the trio made their return journey to the _Interceptor_, speaking excitedly to each other about all their times together.


End file.
